Shoe soles for baseball and like athletic shoes



April 17, 1962 s. SCHWARTZ 3,029,529

SHOE SOLES FOR BASEBALL AND LIKE ATHLETIC SHOES Filed Sept. '7, 1961FiG. 1.

SOL SCHWARTZ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,629,529 SHOE SOLES FORBASEBALL AND LIKE ATHLETIC SHOES Sol Schwartz, Philadelphia, Pa.,assignor to L. N.

Schwartz & Sons, Inc., hiiadelphia, Pa, a corporation of PennsylvaniaFiled Sept. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 136,563 6 Claims. (ill. Fad-2.5)

This invention relates broadly to a shoe sole construction, and moreparticularly to improvements in shoe soles for baseball and likeathletic shoes.

According to the prior art pertaining to baseball shoes and the like,means have been devised to reinforce the sole of the shoe adjacent tothe metal spikes or cleats, and such means has commonly consisted of aseparate metal plate interposed between layers of the sole or betweenthe insole and outsole of the shoe. The metal cleat is then attachedwith rive-ts or the like which penetrate the layers of the sole and themetal reinforcing plate. Such a construction is shown in expired UnitedStates Patent 1,724,190 to D. 3. Golden.

Various means have also been devised in the prior art to eliminate orlessen the tendency for the metal cleats to become clogged with dirt andmud, and such means have generally been in the form of attachmentsseparate from the cheat proper and any cleat reinforcing means whichmight be simultaneously employed. A typical example of the prior artmeans for preventing the cleats of athletic shoes from becoming cloggedwith dirt is shown in expired United States Patent 1,827,515 toGoldenberg.

These prior art proposals while partly successful have possessed certainobvious disadvantages in that they are difiicult and costly tomanufacture and involve the utilization of quite a number of separatemetal parts which are difficult to secure in assembly and likely toseparate or fail during rough usage which shoes of this character arecertain to encounter.

According to the present invention, the above deficiencies of the priorart are fully overcome by the provision of a sole structure embodyingcombined unitary means to reinforce the sole adjacent tothe metal cleatand to prevent the accumulation of mud and dirt in the cleat withresultant separation of the clea-t from the sole during rough usage, '1

More particularly, an object of the present invention is to provide aone piece or unitary sole for an athletic shoe having integral bossesmolded thereonto serve as reinforcing means beneath and adjacent to themetal cleat and as means for preventing the accumulation of mud in thecleat and for keying the metal cleat to the sole in a very firm manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved solestructure for baseball shoes and the like utilizing a minimum number ofmetal parts in conjunction with a one piece sole formed of moldedrubber, synthetic rubber, plastic or like moldabie shoe sole material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan view of an athletic shoe sole according to theinvention, with the metal cleats thereof omitted,

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken on line '2-2of FIGURE 1 and showing the metal cleats attached to the sole in brokenlines,

FIGURE 3 is a partially exploded perspective view "ice of the shoe soleand metal cleats according to the invention.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 119 designatesgenerally a one piece or unitary athletic shoe sole, conveniently formedfrom molded rubber, synthetic rubber or like moldable material Wellknown in the art. The sole 10 is of a shape and size to conform to aparticular style and length and width size designation, and obviously,the molded sole may be produced in a variety of sizes and shapes to meetthe needs of various users.

The shoe upper 11 shown in broken lines in FIGURE 2 may be of anypreferred type and may include an insole 12 attached to the sole 1% inany conventional man her. For example, a stitch receiving groove 13 maybe provided in the molded sole 11 to receive the stitches which securethe sole 11) to the shoe upper 11. Any other preferred means may beemployed for attaching the sole 16 to the shoe upper 11.

According to the present invention, integral means are provided upon thesole 10 to reinforce the latter in the local areas thereof adjacent themetal cleats 14 and 15 which are employed near the toe and heel ends ofthe sole, as is usual in baseball shoes or the like. Such meanscomprises first elevatedbosses 16 and 17 molded integrally upon thebottom face of the sole 10 near the toe and heel portions thereof andconforming marginally to the shapes of the metal cleats 14 and 15. Themarginal shapes of the bosses 16 and 17 may vary in accordance with thedesign of the particular metal cle'at employed, and it is thereforecontemplated within the scope of the invention to provide bosses 16 and17 having varied marginal contours or shapes. In the presentillustrative example, the boss 16 at the toe region is generally threesided and tapers forwardly and has square corners as indicated at 13,but in no sense is this present invention limited to this particulardesign for the boss 16. Similarly, the boss 17 at the heel region of thesole has rounded longitudinal edges 19 rendering the boss 17 rearwardlytapering, and the boss 17 has a truncated rear transverse end 2% and aforward generally straight transverse edge 21, as shown. As will befurther explained hereinafter, the integral raised bosses 16 and 17 ofthe sole 1% serve as underlying reinforcements or local stiffening areasfor the metal cleats 14 and 15 applied to the completed sole structure.the need for any separate metallic plate inserts or the like in the solestructure for reinforcing the same adjacent to the metal cleats isentirely eliminated, thus rendering the sole structure highly economicalto manufacture and extremely sturdy and durable, without the necessityfor numerous metal parts.

A further important feature of the invention resides in the provisionupon the first or reinforcing bosses 16 and 17' of second raisedintegral bosses 22 and 23, which are likewise integrally molded with thesole 10 and entirely unitary in construction. The second bosses 22 and23 like the bosses 16 and 17 have flat outer faces and are externallycontoured to fit the body or frame of the particular metal cleat appliedthereto. The boss 22 embodies preferably three keying edge portions 24separated by concave or recessed edge'portions 25, as shown. Themarginal shape of the boss 22 is adapted to conform to and fit within acentral contoured opening 26 of the forward cleat 14 as shown in thedrawings. The shape of the opening 26 and the marginal shape of the boss22 may vary considerably within the scope of the invention and thepresent showing in the drawings is for the purpose of illustration andshould not be construed in a limiting sense. The boss 22 is arrangedcentrally of the underly- According to the invention,

ing integral boss 16 and symmetrical therewith, as shown.

In like manner, the boss 23 is disposed centrally of the boss 17 andcomprises three keying portions 27 and separating recessed edge portions28 which impart to the boss 23 a marginal shape for interlocking orkeying engagement with the central opening 29 of like shape formed inthe body portion of the rear cleat 15.

As shown in the drawings, the cleats 14 and 15 have fiat plate-like bodyportions 30 and 31 respectively for engagement upon the firstreinforcing bosses 16 and 17 and corresponding marginally to the shapesof these bosses. The contoured openings 26 and 29 of the cleats 14 and15 snugly receive the elevated contoured bosses 22 and 23 in assembly,and the heights of the bosses 22 and 23 above the integral reinforcingbosses 16 and 17 are about equal to the thickness of each body portion30 and 31, so that in assembly, the lower faces of the cleat bodyportions are substantially flush with the lower faces of the bosses 22and 23. The contoured bosses 22 and 23 engaging within thecorrespondingly shaped openings 26 and 29 of the cleats serve to key thetwo cleats positively to the sole structure so that the cleats will notturn or shift in any direction when assembled to the sole structure.

The cleat body portions 30 and 31 are provided near their corners withsuitable small openings 32 for the reception of small fastener elements33, which may be nails, screws, rivets or the like for attaching thecleats 14 and 15 to the sole structure. The bosses 16 and 17 may, ifdesired, have small recesses 34 molded therein to receive and guide thefastener elements 33. These recesses 34 may be omitted entirely, ifpreferred.

The cleats 14 and 15 are provided at their corners with the usualdownturned prongs or spikes 35, integral therewith for penetratingengagement with the ground during the use of the athletic shoe.

It may now be seen that a sole structure is provided in accordance withthe invention wherein the only metallic parts employed are the cleatsthemselves and the attaching elements 33. The first bosses 16 and 17molded integrally with the sole provide materially thickened reinforcingsole portions which underlie the body portions of the cleats and providethe desired stiffness and strength at the areas of the sole adjacent thecleats, and the usual metallic inserts for this purpose are entirelyunnecessary and are successfully dispensed with. The secondary bosses 22and 23 integral with and molded upon the first bosses 16 and 17 servethe dual purpose of keying the cleats 14 and to the reinforcing bosses16 and 17 so that the cleats will not turn or shift slidably upon thesole structure, and also prevent undesirable clogging of the cleats withmud or dirt which may tend ultimately to loosen the cleats and/ orimpair their effectiveness in preventing slipping and sliding of thewearer. The bosses 22 and 23 completely fill the contoured openings 26and 29 of the cleat body portions and are flush with the same, asstated, so that mud cannot work into the openings 26 and 29 orunderneath the cleat body portions which lie flat against thereinforcing bosses 16 and 17.

The construction according to the invention is sturdy and durable,highly compact and neat and workmanlike in appearance, and as previouslypointed out, the need for embedded metallic reinforcing plates and/ orseparate mud or dirt protectors or guards is entirely eliminated. Theconstruction of the sole 10 with the pairs of bosses 16 and 22 and 17and 23 is entirely unitary, and this greatly facilitates manufacturingand reduces the cost of manufacturing considerably as compared to theprior art.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scopeof the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an athletic shoe sole structure, a sole body portion, a firstreinforcing boss formed integrally with the sole body portion andprojecting beyond the lower face of the same and having a substantiallyfiat face, a combined keying and mud excluding boss smaller in area thanthe reinforcing boss and formed integrally thereon and projecting fromthe lower face thereof, a cleat having a substantially flat plate-likebody portion engageable upon the reinforcing boss and having an openingconforming substantially to the shape of keying and mud excluding bossand receiving the latter, said cleat body portion having a thicknessapproximating the height of the keying and mud excluding boss and suchboss substantially entirely filling said opening of the cleat bodyportion and substantially fiush in assembly with the lower face of thecleat body portion, and fastener means for attaching the cleat bodyportion to the reinforcing boss outwardly of the margin of the keyingand mud excluding boss.

2. The invention as defined by claim 1, and wherein the sole bodyportion, reinforcing boss and the combined keying and mud excluding bossconstitute an integral section of molded rubber-like material.

3. The invention as defined by claim 1, and wherein said reinforcingboss and cleat body portion have substantially registering marginaledges, and said combined keying and mud excluding boss and said openingof the cleat body portion have irregular matching edge contours whichcoact in assembly to prevent the cleat from turning or shifting in anydirection.

4. An athletic shoe sole structure comprising a sole body portion of onepiece molded construction and having first and second raised bossesformed integrally thereon in superposed relation projecting below thelower face of the sole body portion in stepped relation and with thesecond boss smaller in area than the first boss and symmetricallylocated upon the first boss, the marginal edge of the second boss havingan irregular contour, and a metallic cleat having a plate-like bodyportion mounted in abutting relation to the first boss and having anopening shaped to correspond to the irregular edge contour of the secondboss and receiving the same in keying relation, said plate-like bodyportion having its lower face substantially flush with the lower face ofthe second boss in assembly.

5. The invention as defined by claim 4, and means for anchoring saidplate-like cleat body portion to said first boss.

6. The invention as defined by claim 4, and wherein pairs of said firstand second bosses and a pair of said cleats are arranged one each nearthe toe and heel regions of said sole body portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,041,667 Pierce Oct. 15, 1912 1,810,577 Richardson June 16, 19311,937,712 Nester Dec. 5, 1933 2,678,507 Dye May 18, 1954

